Making A Commitment
by VisualIDentificationZeta
Summary: the real HM; SUMMARY: The way Season 5 should've gone... while out with the guys on a beautiful Italian beach Harm comes across someone from his past and decides to do something he should've done years ago.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Making A Commitment

AUTHOR: Vid Z.

PAIRING: the real HM... Harm/Meg

TIMELINE: start of Season 5, before Mac's promotion (which won't ever happen in this universe)

DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the TV show JAG are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fic. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I was notified that a Harm/Mac (shudder) fic has already taken the title "Commitment" and that I needed to find a new one for my fic. As you know I stay away from Harm/Mac like it's the bubonic plague, my feelings on Mac have been plainly clear for years, so I didn't know about that fic. Since the word "commitment" is an important one in this fic I'm keeping it in the new title.

SUMMARY: The way Season 5 should've gone... while out with the guys on a beautiful Italian beach Harm comes across someone from his past and decides to do something he should've done years ago.

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AUGUST 1999

A BEACH ON ISCHIA, AN ISLAND NEAR NAPLES

ITALY

Harm was strolling down the beach with some of the guys from his squadron when he spotted something familiar among the mass of half naked bodies. Europe has much more relaxed views on sexuality and nudity (sexually explicit scenes in movies are not cut out, not even for prime time TV,...) and there's nothing strange, much less illegal, for women to go top-less on a public beach. Nudist beaches flourish too and have many visitors every year.

He was a man in his prime and he certainly enjoyed the view of beautiful, sexy young Italian women sunning on the warm sand, their dark skin and dark hair making them that much more alluring, naked breasts standing proudly on their chests.

But what had caught his eyes was not another Italian girl showing off her abundant breasts or deeply tanned skin or toned body, but it was a flash of gold.

More than just the golden hair it was the the presence the body gave off that sparked something inside him.

Automatically he changed course and his friends followed him, curious as to what had so captivated their newly-promoted comrade.

Harm stopped in front of a blonde with a stunning body, only a book covering her face from view.

But Harm could recognize those delicate hands, those slim arms, that intoxicating presence, that confident pose and the way she carried herself (thankfully, her fully bathing-suit-dressed self, not a top-less self), anywhere and a delighted grin curved his lips.

He settled his weight on one leg and drawled while his squadron mates observed with interest.

"It should be illegal to be as beautiful as you. You want me to defend you at your Courts-Martial?"

After a moment of disbelief over the extremely lame come-on the guys burst out laughing and clapped him on the back. "That was THE worst pick-up line ever, Pappy. Crashed and burned. Better luck next time, man."

They didn't see the woman suddenly freeze at Harm's voice, while Harm, who was watching her intently and ignoring his friends, did.

Now, for the deal breaker. "Or you'd let me take you out to dinner and you'd wear that lovely red dress again. And it _was _a red dress, Lieutenant. I DO know you that well."

The guys went silent at the strange comment while the woman whipped the book down, revealing her face that carried an incredulous expression.

Suddenly, realizing he truly was who she'd thought he was she threw down the book, jumped to her feet directly into his arms, returning his tight hug enthusiastically. "Harm!"

Stupefied, the gang looked on at the strange sequence of events. They'd been completely convinced in Harm getting a brush off, especially due to his weird and stupid lines, but had been surprised to see that the woman had not only not brushed him off, but had also greeted him by name and jumped into his arms, hugging him like the world was about to go asunder. What had previously been only assumed was now confirmed: that was one drop-dead gorgeous woman there. While her breasts were on the small side, they were round and full. She was also tall, with a graceful, lean body, looooong muscular legs, tight butt with those cute dimples in the small of her back that only women with perfect bodies have, a narrow waist that flared out into a great pair of hips, not too wide and not too narrow, and a flat belly.

The hugging couple just reveled in the sensation of holding each other in their arms, of finally being together again, of being reunited after so many years.

"Uh, Pappy?" one of the guys cleared his throat. "Care to introduce us?"

Meg slowly looked their way, as if seeing them for the first time, and blushed in embarrassement. She was damn glad now that she hadn't gone topless. Then she hid her head in Harm's chest in giggled. "Pappy?"

Harm groaned, rolling his eyes. "Don't start."

He gently pushed her away, thus breaking the hold her arms had on him. Turning towards the guys he introduced. "Men, this is LTJG..." Meg shook her head and Harm beamed proudly, kissing her on the cheek and whispered. "Congratulations, you deserve it." He smirked at her crimson red face and resumed the introductions. "LT Meg Austin, my former partner and the second best JAG lawyer..." and received a slug in the arm for it "...okay, THE best JAG lawyer of all four military branches. Okay, now that I'm out of JAG she really is." he ignored the wide eyed stare Meg shot him. She was stunned, when had he left JAG?

The men straightened in the presence of a superior officer, even though the officer was wearing a bikini, looking incredibly sexy. From the way the two former partners were standing close to each other and the aura of protectiveness and territoriality Harm simply radiated the guys understood that it was in their best interests to keep their eyes above her chin. In fact, neither of them was even looking at her, they all had their eyes directed past her shoulder.

Meg noticed this and turned to Harm inquisitively. She wondered what had bitten Harm's friends because she herself found nothing weird about she or Harm. In fact, it was as if they'd never been separated, that old bond and closeness had reasserted itself almost immediately. Because they had always been like that, Harm standing close and behind her, towering over her and silently threatening other men, marking his territory, she didn't find anything that was not normal for partners and friends, nothing out of the ordinary. They'd always been like that.

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**Reviews are love.**


	2. Chapter 2

Great to see people still like Harm/Meg!

Huge thanks to qqball, Rittanicus, Sarai, Leigh, Les, Lynnp, michelle UK and Sage and Snape for your reviews.

This one is a little on the short side, but since the next one is longer I couldn't fuse them together.

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Harm, oblivious to his body language, continued with his introductions and pointed at each man, stating his rank, name and callsign. Meg, still puzzled, responded to their respectful (even Baxton was behaving himself) 'Ma'am' with repeating his rank. Harm was obviously regarding this woman as his territory and no-one wanted to get on his wrong side by hitting on her. Not only was he higher in rank and ladder, but was also bigger than any of them.

Since it was pretty obvious Harm would be staying and had quite apparently lost all interest in picking up some Italian girls, not that he'd been particularly enthusiastic even before, besides being even more obvious that their presence was neither wanted nor needed, they quickly took their leave.

Only after they were already out of sight did Harm remember one rather important detail. "Well, there goes my ride." he commented.

"Don't worry, I'll give you a ride. What you have to worry about is namely, what did you mean with that comment about no longer being a JAG?" Meg's eyes were flashing and Harm knew he had to spill the beans fast. Sweet and gentle Meg had the temper to match her Texan heritage. True, it took a lot to get the temper going, but when it did you'd better run.

"Why don't we sit down." he motioned around, silently telling her they were their neighbors' center of attention.

She aquiesced and Harm laid down his own beach towel. "Now, where was I?"

"Stalling." Meg said with a flat tone and a serious look in her eye.

"Ah yes. Well, a couple of months ago I was at a doctor about my eyes and he discovered I didn't have night blindness." he started, but was interrupted by Meg who was looking at him sternly, her hands on her hips. Harm refrained from telling her the stance kinda lost it's effect with her wearing only those very nice bikini.

"What do you mean with that past tense?"

"If you wouldn't have interrupted you would've known by now. Anyway, apparently I had some sort of infection and that was causing the loss of vision in the dark. It was treatable, with a laser eye surgery." he was looking down as they were sitting both Indian-style on their blankets turned to each other. "So I had the operation done. Wasn't aware though that I had to get permission from my "friends"" Harm said bitterly "before I did anything to improve my health or the quality of my life. My private life especially... Then I passed the flight physical and the exams, re-qualified and went back on active duty. Me and the guys from my squadron took a few days shore leave while the Patrick Henry is in port and found a nice hotel here nearby."

Meg was still reeling from the news, but managed to finish his narration for him "And went to the beach today to pick up some beach bunnies to take them to the hotel with you." She then looked at him and tilted her head, thinking. "Doesn't sound like you."

"Naah." Harm shook his head. "Just went with them to keep them out of trouble and to stop them from _making _trouble. You know how local guys don't appreciate newcomers adding to the gene pool..."

"Yeah." she mumbled absently. Then finally the news sunk in "Wait a minute! You're actually trying to tell me you're flying Tomcats full time again!?"

He just nodded and was unprepared for her squeal of enthusiasm and even more for her jumping into his arms again. He barely stopped himself from toppling on his back from suddenly having 130 pounds of an excited blonde in his arms. "I'm so happy for you, Harm! I've always known how much flying means to you and how much you missed it!"

He squeezed her tighter to him and, over her shoulder, his eyes misted. FINALLY someone who was happy for him, who understood what flying was to him and that he had to take this opportunity. But he was not surprised that it was Meg the only one to understand this. She'd always understood him better than anyone, even better than his own mother and had rejoiced with him whenever he got the opportunity to fly again on one of their cases.

Of course she was worried for him, worried that something might happen to him, he'd always seen it in her eyes, even though she hid it to not ruin his joy. But she also trusted him to do everything possible to stay alive and come back. She trusted him as a pilot, she knew he was the best pilot she'd meet, and had even flown with him many times, fully enjoying the flight, even more when he went supersonic or when he showed her some moves with the plane. Amazing how different she was from Mac who couldn't stand to even sit in a Tomcat, much less go fast or do maneuvers. Contrary to Annie, Mac and Jordan, she didn't resent him or hate him for his love of flying and the importance planes had in his life. Even now, years later, perhaps especially now after seeing how other women he got involved with reacted to his flying, he was kicking himself for letting Meg slip out of his grasp.

While everyone at JAG had taken his decision to go back to flying as some kind of betrayal, Mac especially, Meg understood it and supported it fully.

Early on they had made a connection, a bond that proved unbreakable, even after years apart. They could read each other as if they were open books, something that had insured them their great successes at work and a very solid and stable friendship. They'd been approaching a romantic relationship when Meg was transferred out and now they were back together. Harm knew he would not let this opportunity pass him by and would do whatever it took to make sure they would never go apart again.

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	3. Chapter 3

Wow, your responses blew me away, I guess you really have all missed Meg, huh? :)

Huge thanks to **camile, Leigh, Lynnp, Sarai, Tocharian, Sage and Snape, blubachat2, Rittanicus, zeilfanaat, qqball **and **Mastrblckhwk** for your lovely reviews.

Here's more of Harm/Meg goodness, enjoy.

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Once they were calmed down enough Meg let go of him and asked with an impish grin "So, PAPPY?"

Harm groaned "You just HAD to ask, didn't you? Okay, okay. I got that callsign because I'm the oldest in the squadron and they see me as some kind of a father figure to them."

Meg burst out laughing and Harm could do not much else but suffer through her giggles. Not that they were torture. He'd always liked to hear her laugh, it meant she was happy and Meg's happiness meant everything to him, even now years later.

"Okay, so tell me everything that happened in your life since we parted." Meg said and made herself comfortable on her side, with her arm propping her head up "Especially what you meant with your earlier remark about asking permission from your friends." she frowned, having an idea what he'd meant and not liking it.

Harm winced in rememberance "Ah, yes. I already told you about the surgery." Meg nodded in agreement, wordlessly prodding him to go on "Anyway, the story goes like this. I had the check-up and then was given the correct diagnosis. When the doctor told me all it would take was a short laser surgery I accepted."

"You'd be a fool not to." Meg agreed.

"Glad you see it that way. Nor can I say I'm surprised. Anyway, I scheduled the surgery and got a few hours off at work, didn't tell anyone where I was going." he paused "My health is my own problem and I'm the one to make decisions about it and since my friends all had their own problems to deal with then I saw no need to let them know. My partner's father was dying so there was no way I'd burden her with my this. So I went and had the surgery and put in a request for a change of designator. I honestly thought they'd be happy for me when I told them, instead they took it as a betrayal... The woman I was dating broke up with me, saying she didn't want a pilot, she wanted a lawyer."

"They were idiots, Harm." Meg murmured, laying her hand on his forearm, looking deeply into his eyes "If they can't understand even that about you and accept it then they don't deserve you."

"You're right." he decided "Not one of them ever understood what flying means to me, even my partner. Especially my partner." his eyes softened when they focused on her "No-one but you, you're the only one who understands me. Who ever understood or knew the real me."

There was nothing Meg could say to that, because she instinctively knew it was true. Wanting to get him out of his funk she began recounting her life ever since she'd been abruptly taken from him and transferred across the globe.

He was silent throughout her story, but the steady hand he kept in hers and the occasional squeezes of sympathy and understanding meant more to her than any empty word. She also much rather had Harm not trying to put his feelings and emotions into words, she knew he was much better putting them into action, felt more comfortable manifesting them with action, so she'd never press him to express them with words.

When she was done Harm followed her example and began the rest of his tale.

Occasional comments and expressions of sympathy, like "They gave you a Marine!? What were they thinking? Where they on some kind of drugs!?", were the only thing that interrupted him, but it didn't bother him, for they were mostly thoughts he himself had had then.

He stopped his narration temporarily when he noticed Meg was starting to become red on one side.

"You should put some more sunscreen on, you're turning into a lobster." he pointed with a grin. Meg looked at herself and gasped. Sitting up she quickly started following his advice and Harm was forced to do the same within seconds.

His eyes followed Meg's hands, then started skimming over her body with wonder. While she'd been pale in DC she had by now acquired a wonderful tan in the hot mediterranean sun, which contrasted beautifully with her golden hair and corresponded even more amazingly with the really very, very, VERY nice black bikini she was wearing.

He also noticed she still had her figure. Perhaps an even better one because she was now mainly nicely toned feminine muscles from all the swimming in the warm sea she was doing regularly. The flat of her stomach emphasized her chest, which had never been large but Harm had always thought they were just the perfect size for her, they gave her body a personal character, anything bigger, much less as big as Mac, would look cheap; those very long toned legs he'd always liked so much and that just went on forever, her tight and high butt on top of them, the flare of her hips against her small waist that then widened into her chest like a sand clock, long thin arms, graceful neck and the beautiful face with the eyes that had captured him the first time they'd met.

She was still as gorgeous as he remembered her. Not one of those starved-out, flat-chested and with-no-waist-curvature-at-all supermodels could ever compare to this healthy and natural beauty. She truly was the Yellow Rose of Texas.

This appreciation of her looks and the sight of her hands following her body had it's effects on him though and he had to avert his eyes lest she, and everyone nearby, found out just how she was affecting him.

"Uh, Harm." came a few seconds later Meg's sheepish voice. He looked up to see an equally sheepish expression.

"Yeah?"

"Could you apply some sunscreen to my back?" she asked hesitantly. She'd always been affected by his nearness, not to mention a casual touch, and was hoping she wouldn't make a fool of herself if she felt his big hands on her naked skin. Jumping him on a public beach would not be cool.

The first touch of his hands sent shivers down her spine that Harm noticed, but to her relief didn't comment on.

His hands felt wonderful, as he not only rubbed the oil in, but also lightly massaged her back. Meg was in absolute bliss and closed her eyes, dangerously close to purring like a cat. And jumping Harm's bones.

All too soon he was done and wordlessly she took the plastic bottle from him to return the favor.

Harm enjoyed her hands on his back, kneading his muscles just as much as she had his. He closed his eyes in ecstasy and just gave himself over to the sensations, but again it was over much too soon. Only a lifetime of touching would ever fill their need for each other.

Then she lay on her front and turned her head towards him, blinking at him lazily, the effects of the warm sun, the wonderful smell of the Mediterranean sea, the sound of the waves and the presence of Harm being so near her getting to her. He really was getting to her, she'd namely barely stopped herself from draping herself over his back and winding her arms around his neck from behind when she'd finished applying the sunscreen, topping it with a kiss to the back of his neck.

Harm noticed her drooping eyes and smiled. "Go ahead and take a nap, Meg, I can see you're barely staying awake. I'll be here."

She yawned and wrinkled her nose in the way he'd always found incredibly cute and adorable. "I know." she mumbled and within seconds she was snoring softly, oblivious to the effect her solid trust and conviction in Harm had on him.

When he felt sleep tugging on his own eyelids he stealthily secured Meg's purse under her towel between them so no-one would steal it.

Just as he was almost asleep he felt a warm body move towards him, looking for his warmth and then snuggled into his chest.

Sleep claimed him.

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**Reviews are love.**


	4. Chapter 4

I'm not gonna give you some lame excuses about why I haven't updated sooner, but will give you the real reason: real life.

Huge thanks to **Rittanicus, zeilfanaat, Les, Leigh, Cassandra30, Captain J 737, camile, Lynnp, carrot1151 **and **rightsideofwrong **for your lovely reviews.

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They were awakened by the sea breeze as it wafted over them, revealing the drop in temperature from the sun having almost set.

Even with the shared heat the lessened power of the yellow globe on their skin was felt and they slowly raised from their slumber.

Harm's return to the real world was heralded by the feel of weight on his chest, which was thankfully positioned so he could still normally breathe.

He opened his eyes to be met with the sight of a darkening sky, still as cloudless and beautiful as before. When he turned his head and saw the Earth's nearest star disappearing in the sea over the horizon he let himself drink in the beauty of the Mediterranean dusk.

He was reminded of the person partially on top of him when he heard low murmur.

Looking down he caught sight of Meg's sleep-flushed face just before she nuzzled her face into his chest and murmured something in her sleep again. It sounded suspiciously like she was thinking about some request form. He couldn't stop the amused smirk from curving his lips. She was cute. He'd die before he'd tell her that of course.

He'd probably die if he told her as well... the woman had her own service weapon, after all.

Mortal danger or not, she was cute. Even when one managed to ignore her sun-bright inner beauty and intelligence, Meg Austin was physically stunning. But in a completely opposite way from all the other women he knew and who had been interested in him.

Meg wasn't a seductress, the type Mac was, brimming with sexual temptation, the type who wears heady, spicy perfumes, dresses with the intention of turning men's heads, picking up strangers at bars for quick anonymous sex sessions, her dark complexion and hair just further solidifying her temptress aura.

In fact, Meg's beauty was the direct opposite, Meg had the beauty of innocence, she was pure and honest and innocent. Her attractive features weren't the ones on which flirtation, steamy looks and seduction looked natural, Meg's features were the cutely beautiful ones. She was the stereotypical gorgeous, yet innocent and uncorrupted country-girl-next-ranch-over. Any attempt at being a seductress would be a disaster, because she didn't have it in her to play games, to play with men, string them along and make promises she may or may not follow through on, the essence of seduction. Mac was a master in it, but Meg would be a complete failure. Yet it was this honesty and purity that had always drawn him to Meg.

If you compared them with stars, Mac was the North Cross, she burned brightly, loved being in the spotlights and center of attention, but the strong burn hid the fact that she would also burn out quickly. Meg on the other hand was a quiet, unassuming star, content in anonymity and the security it provided, she burned lowly and would therefore burn for a long time to come. The shy, quiet, sweet and unassuming way she behaved and acted hid a strong center, a resilient and wonderful person, who didn't need to be physically attractive to be beautiful because she already was on the inside.

Meg didn't sleep around, there were no different men in her bed every night or week, the one date she'd had was to get info out of a cop and even that had been cut short before it could even start. She was the type who's potential boyfriend had to be the serious kind, who knew he'd be introduced to her mother and brother within a few months of the relationship starting, because Meg would get involved only if the relationship had at least 90 percent chance it would become a longterm, serious one.

In the years since he'd last seen this amazing young woman Harm had been forced to face many truths about himself, among them the fact that what they'd had hadn't been only mere attraction, but something deeper. Something that had made him forget any other woman.

Holding her in his arms in the way they'd been born for, for the first time in his life, Harm decided not to leave Naples without making sure Meg Austin was his for good. He already was hers. He couldn't lose her again, not after finding her again. He wouldn't allow them to lose each other ever again.

Feeling movement again he looked down and was met by bleary orbs, the shade of the summer sky.

Lifting her head off his chest her nose wrinkled when she realized the beach was mostly empty and there was a chill in the air. Unconsciously pressing herself closer to Harm for the heat, she was then pulled even tighter by Harm himself who was enjoying this kind of intimacy with her too much to let it end.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice still husky from sleep.

Lifting his arm to take a look at his watch Harm answered, surprised "Almost 2100."

Meg's head, that had been about to find her spot on his chest again, snapped up "What!? 2100!?"

Harm nodded, a smirk slowly growing "Yeah."

"Oh, god." she groaned, letting her head fall on his chest, ignoring Harm's fake exclamation of pain upon the contact "I can't believe we slept through the day." Peering out from only one eyes she saw an expanse of broad male chest. Sun-burnt male chest "We're gonna be paying for this for days."

Harm grunted in agreement. He was already feeling a slight pin-pricks, but the full-on attack was held back by the slight, soothing breeze from the sea. Looking down at the woman in his arms he silently cringed at the sight of reddish skin. He was lucky because his normally-darker tone would prevent any bad suffering and would quickly turn the redness into brown, but Meg, even with the amount of sun she'd gotten during her posting in Italy, still had to be careful with her pale, sensitive skin. He quickly suppressed the idea that he wouldn't mind being the one to rub-in the sunburn cream. This was not the right time for such thoughts. His swimming trunks wouldn't hide much...

Making a command decision he slapped Meg lightly on her luscious butt, on the un-burnt cheek, eliciting a funny squeak and a glare.

"Come on." he instructed and sat up, regretfully dislodging Meg's head from the position where they both liked it to be "Lets go get some dinner, I'm hungry."

Standing up he first stretched out the kinks from laying so long on his back on the beach.

Still displeased with him having slapped her butt and then disturbed her quite pleasant rest on top of him, Meg glared up at from where she was sitting on her towel and snarled grumpily "Who says you're going to dinner with _me_?"

"I am." he replied strongly, his strong voice brooking no argument, as he bent down, picked up his towel and shook off the sand. Hanging it over his shoulder he turned his attention back to Meg, who was looking around feverishly for something. "Your purse is under your towel." he put in helpfully and got a glare in thanks. Shaking his head he stiffled a chuckle. She was just too cute when her feathers were ruffled.

After hanging her purse over her shoulder, sending Harm another glare, collecting her towel, glaring at Harm again when he took the beach bag to carry it, they were finally on their way.

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It was 3 minutes into their walk before Meg had enough of the silence.

"Where are you taking me for dinner then?" she demanded and Harm hid his smirk. He'd found her little attempt at mutiny because of him taking charge amusing. Mostly because that, and the opportunistic abuse of her butt-cheek, was the only reason she had denied the chance of them going to dinner together.

"There's this small italian restaurant nearby..." he started, but was cut off by Meg's snort

"Ha ha." she snarked at his emphasis that it was an italian restaurant, as if that was uncommon, but he could still detect the return of humor in her voice. He smiled, knowing she had already forgotten that slap. He didn't though, the memory of that firm, tight cheek under his hand as he couldn't help but squeeze it slightly, was still burning his fingers and palm.

"You have a room at a hotel, right?" Harm asked her worriedly "Because it could be too late for a ferry to the mainland."

"Yeah, I have a room at the hotel _La Gongordia_." Meg assured him.

"Good." he nodded "I'm at _Vittorio Principio_, we're neighbors.Lets meet up in the lobby of your hotel in 45 minutes. That enough time to get ready?"

Meg nodded and reclaimed her beach-bag. She saw they were at her hotel and turned to Harm "See you in 45 minutes."

Harm stood, watching, until she entered the lobby and disappeared from sight.

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**Reviews are love.**


	5. Chapter 5

My apologies dear friends for not updating last week, but RL was quite hectic. I planned on posting this earlier today, but then had to unexpectedly leave before I could do so.

Huge thanks to **Lynnp, Captain J 737, starryeyes10, carolfd, michelle UK, Rittanicus,Sarai and sage **and **snape **for your lovely reviews.

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Having been waiting for the last 30 minutes, Harm seriously regretted proposing that long. Sure, Meg was a woman (and what a woman!), and women need more time to get ready, but he was getting a bit annoyed at the suspicious looks the receptionist was sending him. As if no-one had ever waited for their date in the lobby of a hotel!

Still the wait paid off when Meg finally made her appearance. She looked amazing and for a moment Harm thought he was dreaming, but when the vision in the yellow summer dress made her way to him he realized it was real. Rising to his feet he met her, smiles growing on both of their faces.

"Ready." Meg smiled up at him.

Wordlessly Harm offered her the crook of his elbow. Beaming brightly Meg hooked her hand at his elbow and they made their way out of the hotel.

"You look amazing." Harm complimented her when the refreshing sea air cleared his head a little.

"You don't look so shabby either." Meg teased him and Harm grinned mischeviously.

It wasn't far and they were quickly seated at a table nearest the sea. Sitting opposite of each other both were content to just enjoy finally being with each other, accompanied by the music of the sea whispering against the rocky beach.

"Why didn't you ask for a transfer back to the HQ?" Harm blurted out suddenly, the question having pestered him for years.

Meg averted her gaze and he cursed himself for asking "I... I didn't know if I would still be welcome." she finally confessed on a whisper.

That shocked Harm and he sat there, not knowing what to think "Meg..." he stuttered, reaching out to touch her hand and take it in his "Why would you think that?"

"You've all moved on and I didn't want to intrude on your lives." she continued, unwilling to meet his eyes.

"Oh, Meg." he murmured sadly "You were so wrong, you could _never _intrude."

Her eyes came up haltingly, hesitant hope blooming in those beautiful orbs "I couldn't?" she whispered in a choked voice.

"No way." Harm reassured "We've been missing you all so much." swallowing heavily he forced himself to continue, to expose himself "Especially me."

"Really?" tears glistened as Meg's chin trembled.

"Really." Harm nodded, wiping away an errant tear. Looking around at the packed restaurant garden he suggested "What do you say we get out of here?"

"Yeah." she nodded "Lets."

Counting out the money for the drinks and a tip Harm put it under a glass, grabbed Meg's hand and together they left the restaurant at a half-run.

They stopped at the edge of the water, breathless from the run and the joyful laughing.

Looking deeply into Meg's shining eyes Harm knew this was THE moment, the perfect moment.

"Meg." he murmured deadly serious.

A cute frown curved her brow "Yes?"

"I've really missed you these past few years."

"I missed you too." she smiled gently, but Harm could see she wasn't getting the point so he continued steadfastly.

"And I realized a few things about me... about us." she looked confused now "About what I feel for you."

Hope started blossoming quickly in Meg's chest, but she quelled it down, not wanting to get her hopes up. Yet, she couldn't completely suppress the way her heart skipped a beat and then began racing a mile a minute. Not wanting to hope, but hoping nonetheless, she breathed from the onslaught of emotions "How DO you feel about me?"

Harm's mouth opened and closed a couple of times as he tried to find the correct words, while Meg just waited patiently, knowing he'd find a way to get his point across, knowing that the last thing she should do is push him for answers, especially when it came to answers about his feelings.

Not finding the correct words Harm in the end decided on the one way that had served him well through the years. He showed her with action.

Pulling her gently, but quickly into his arms, he swallowed her gasp of surprise with his mouth.

For a second Meg stiffened in shock, but then when her brain caught up to what was happening she melted into him and participated in the kiss fully.

They stood there, the waves breaking on the coast as the two star-crossed lovers kissed under the blanket of stars.

It was minutes before they stopped and returned to the here-and-now and minutes more before they regained enough breath to speak.

"Is that so, Commander?" Meg inquired, smiling up at him, happiness singing in her words.

"Yes, it is, Lieutenant." Harm nodded sagely "Now, the question is how do YOU feel about me?"

Wordlessly Meg leaned towards him, her eyes slipping closed, and latched her lips on to his. This time it took much longer before they parted and when they did, their forheads touched and they shared their breaths "Is that so, Lieutenant." Harm finally murmured after he'd recovered from the passion of the kiss.

"It is, Commander."

"Meg Austin, will you be my girl in port?" he asked her solemnly at length.

Her already large smile widened even further and her eyes sparkled when he made his request. With a fake nonchalance she stipulated "If I'm your girl in port then I'd better be your only girl in any port, Harm."

"Of course." Harm nodded in agreement "Wouldn't want it any other way."

"Wow." Meg mock-gasped, her grin betraying her "I'm taking the great Harmon Rabb off the market!"

"Yeah." he nodded sagely "There will be a lot of hearts broken and rivers of tears shed when it comes out."

Encouraged by the last successes Harm decided to go all the way, to try to make his dreams come true in their entirety.

"Meg, Sweetheart." Harm started and his obvious nervousness compelled Meg to listen carefully. She wondered what more he could have to say, considering he'd already dropped a pretty big bomb, but she definitely wasn't about to miss out on what he was about to say "It's now no longer a secret how we've always felt about each other and these past few years were torture without you there. I've been missing you and nothing felt right. Until I found you again today. I don't want us to lose contact again, I don't want to lose YOU again." Meg was listening her chest tight from emotion and her eyes glistening with oncoming tears.

Harm looked around the dark beach and took a deep breath, gathering his courage. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want us to make a commitment to each other, a commitment that will prevent us from losing contact again, especially for stupid or banal reasons. There's only one way I can see us insuring we'll never do that and while I know it's huge and definitely going too fast in a relationship that's only started, I believe we can make it. We've been friends a long time, no-one has ever known me as thoroughly as you know me and I know you better than anyone. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses and we get along and love each other despite and because of them, so we don't need to date to get to know each other as other couples have to, we just need to get used to being a couple. And we'll have plenty of time for that once we make that commitment, which is what will actually give us a chance to get used to it. What I'm trying to say is, Meg Austin, will you marry me?"

Head spinning from Harm's ramblings it took her a few seconds to catch his last question, then another few seconds to realize what he was actually asking. He was asking her to marry him, to spend the rest of her life with only him and, because she knew he'd been wanting a family for a long time, have his children. It took her only a fraction of a second to decide.

A sob broke through and Meg threw herself into his arms "Yes!"

Knowing that he wouldn't be rejected Harm tore down the last of his walls. "I love you, Meg."

Tears flooded her eyes as she heard the sweetest words ever. She knew how hard it had been for Harm to say them, how hard it had been for him to break through those walls, shake his fear and admit he loved her. "I love you too." she breathed.

Hungrily finding his lips with her own she took possession of them, pouring all her love and repressed emotions into the kiss.

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**Reviews are love.**


	6. Chapter 6

I won't dodge any rotten tomatoes you want to throw at me. I wanted to update before I went on vacation last Thursday, but things went out of hand and I simply ran out of time. So, now that I'm back home I'm giving you this new chapter.

Also, since you probably all wonder: regs are not an issue since Harm and Meg are not in the same chain of command.

I hope it's becoming obvious I did some serious research for this fic :)

Huge thanks again to **Rittanicus, anon, Captain J 737, Lynnp, michell uk **and **Sarai.**

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They had to break apart when they ran out of air and they leaned their foreheads together, just breathing in each other's breaths.

"Wow." was the only thing Harm was capable of saying.

"Yeah." Meg was no better.

"I should've done this a long time ago." he mused.

"Yeah, me too." she agreed.

"Best would've been the first time we met." he continued.

"Can you imagine Lindsey's face had you done that?" Meg chuckled.

"Yeah, he would've popped a vein." Harm rejoined. "I'm sorry I don't have a ring, but I only decided to propose now."

"I love you, Harm, rings aren't important. I will marry you even if I never get one." she assured him, looking into his eyes with conviction.

"Well, you're still getting one, even if it's just the wedding band. I want every guy that sees you to know you're taken so they'll stay away."

"I'll honored to wear it." Meg declared then continued teasingly "Possessive, aren't we?" knowing that while Harm _was _possessive of her, and had already been while they'd been partnered together, it was not the worrying kind.

"Only of you." he grunted, as if the admission pained him.

With sparkling eyes and enormous smile she took his lips once again.

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About an hour later, as they were sitting on some boulders at the edge of the water, Meg broached the topic they both had avoided until then. "When does your leave end?"

"Four days."

She was quiet for a while, thinking through something furiously. "How much do you still have left on this deployment?"

"Four months." Harm replied and asked her gently "What are you thinking about? I can hear the cogs turning even from here."

"Harm, what kind of a wedding do you want? A big affair or a small one?" she whispered.

"The one you want. I don't care what the wedding is like, I care only about the marriage, that it's strong and successful. I don't care about how the ceremony looks like, if you want a big white military wedding at the Academy chapel I'll personally book it and if you want a small wedding before a Justice of Peace I'm for it too. I just want to be married to you." he told her and she could see sincerety and love in his eyes.

Making up her mind she proposed "What do you think of getting married here, in Italy? During your leave?"

His face broke into a hesitant smile. "You sure?"

"Yeah." she grinned back at him. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"You know Maggie will kill me if we do this, right? Not to mention my own mother." he said then, grinning, quickly warming up to the idea.

"Oh, don't worry, my mother loves you." she soothed his fears. "Though about your mother.... you could be right about that one."

"Thanks." Harm replied sarcastically and then let out a whoop, hopped off the boulder, grabbed her into his arms and spun around, laughing in sheer joy. Meg laughed with him and just hung on for the ride.

Suddenly he stopped and put her down. "Shit. We need to call them immediately anyway. We need them to fax us our birth certificates."

Meg stood there dazed.

"This is really happening." she said in wonder, her eyes wide.

"Yeah." grinned Harm "In less than 4 days you're gonna be Mrs Harmon Rabb, Jr.. Any regrets?"

"None whatsoever." she swore. "In fact, I can't wait. Now let's roll, we need to get to your hotel to call our mothers."

Holding hands they ran down the street, laughing from happiness.

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Since Harm's hotel was closer they headed there and quickly made their way up to his room to call their parents. Thankfully they were instantly reachable and while their mothers were upset they couldn't be there for the wedding they were also ecstatic that their children had found each other again and were finally giving up their bachelor lives.

Within minutes the copies of their birth certificates arrived over the fax.

Accessing the internet in the hotel's cyber-cafe Meg began searching for a list of documents they would need in order to get married in Italy. To her surprise she discovered several companies specializing in organizing weddings for Americans in Italy, but she and Harm were getting married on too short a notice to make use of them. One of these companies even had a list of the documents necessary and Meg printed it out.

They already had their military ID's and their birth certificates, so all they still needed were _Nulla Osta_, a declaration that they were free to get married, and _Atto Notorio_.

They would get these documents the next day at the US consulate in Naples.

That was all they could do for the evening so they said good-night with a long, deep kiss.

Finally, they could stall it no more and they unwound their arms from each other with a whispered "I love you." and Meg strode out the door with a stiff spine, barely holding herself from turning around and staying the night, but what stopped her was the knowledge that they weren't ready for that step yet. As the elevator door closed behind her she finally permitted herself a squeal of joy.

Meanwhile Harm was going about preparing for bed and thanking his lucky stars for having taken the guys up on their invitation to the beach. Had he not he would probably never meet Meg again and would've spent the next few years depressed and pining for Mac, with her going to every man to show interest.

His life was definitely looking up.

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**Reviews are love.**


	7. Chapter 7

Huge thanks to **Sarai, michelle UK, Jeff, Arica, Princess of Rivendell, carrot1151, Lynnp, starryeyes10, Rittanicus **and **carolfd.**

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The next morning Meg picked up Harm in front of the hotel and they made their way off the island and into Naples, and then quickly over to the consulate. Thankfully they both knew the Consule from one of the cases when they'd still been partners. He was definitely surprised to see them both again and delighted that he could help them. He'd had a feeling when he'd first met them that there was something special between these two attractive people and it looked like he'd been right.

Next, they went to the local _Ufficio Legalizzazioni _ of the _Prefettura _for certification with the documents and then made an appointment with the equivalent of the american Justice of Peace for the next day. The wedding would take place on a cliff near Naples, a quiet place that Meg had discovered when she'd first arrived here and went there to think and reminisce about the past. Now her past would become her future and she definitely wanted the important step towards it take place in the place that she'd spent many an hour just thinking about Harm.

This province of Italy has no waiting periods for foreigners so realistically they could've even have gotten married that same day, but they needed time to sort some things out, buy some more appropriate clothes for their wedding,...

Meg had taken 3 days leave so she could spend them with Harm, therefore they had plenty of time to go about it.

As he had left his better clothes and uniforms on the ship it looked like he would be getting married in his summer whites in which he had left the ship.

Well, no matter, he was sure that Meg would be buying herself a white summer dress (no matter how much she'd denied it he still definitely knew her) so they would fit together quite nicely. Hm, on the other hand, he needed a best man. And the only possible choice was currently on-board the Patrick Henry, with access to Harm's clothes. Perhaps he could still wear some of his nice civilian clothes for his wedding day.

His wedding day.

It still baffled him that he was actually getting married and to Meg no less!

After she'd been reassigned so abruptly he'd thought he'd never see her again. Thank god he'd been proven wrong. And now they were getting married.

Yup, he sure loved his life.

While Meg was shopping for her dress he was shopping for their wedding rings. Finally he found some beautiful plain gold rings (he was still traditional about that) with Celtic knots symbolizing eternity.

With that he had sorted everything he could for the wedding and made his way back to his hotel in Naples, having given up the one on Ischia when it had become impractical. Meg had given up her hotel as well and had returned to living on the base.

The next two days went by slowly and they saw little of each other, something that hadn't surprised Harm since Meg _was_ looking for her wedding dress and it took time to find the right one.

Upholding the tradition they didn't see each other that last evening and would meet only at the point, which Meg had described to him.

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Stepping out of the rental car, Harm took a deep breath, earning a smirk from his friend, and started up the path.

Turning around a large boron Harm caught sight of his bride and he froze in his tracks, his breath catching. She was magnificent, the white of her summer dress catching the sun's rays, making her glow as it flapped in the wind. Her golden hair shined as if they were spun gold, reflecting the sun into his eyes. She looked like a goddess.

The wide blue sea in the background just completed the image.

Hearing footsteps Meg turned around and, when she saw her beloved, sent him a blinding smile.

Feeling the strength of her love seep into him Harm squared his shoulders and made his way to the woman he loved more than any other.

When he came to a stop next to Meg he sent her a knowing grin, glancing down at her dress. Meg looked down and up, tilting her head questioningly. When she realized what he was trying to say she just rolled her eyes. Okay, yes, she did admit he knew her that well!

But she still wouldn't admit it to him directly. It was a part of their game and giving in would've been against the rules. She liked their flirty little games.

They took each other's hands as the official started his thing and continued gazing into each other's eyes. The vows and the putting on of their rings went by mostly in a blur, they were too concentrated on each other, and when the man finally proclaimed them husband and wife they were a little surprised it was over already.

They willingly followed his direction to kiss, demonstrating such enthusiasm that they embarrassed their audience.

Tuna, the tough guy he was, couldn't stop the blush creeping up his cheeks at the sight of them making out so thoroughly and he glanced at the other witness, Meg's best friend on the base, only to see she was faring the same and that she was sending him a particularly suggestive look. Tuna was definitely no fool in interpreting signals and was already looking forward to the exchange of information her look was promising.

Finally Meg and Harm had gotten to the point that had everyone present embarrassed and Tuna knew he had to break it up before they started tearing off each other's clothes right there and then.

"Okay, you two, break it up!" he yelled, tapping Harm on the shoulder "There are special places for this kind of behaviour and they're called bedrooms!"

Harm and Meg froze as they were roughly yanked back into the real world and realized just where they were.

As their gazes were now locked they could read the same feeling in both of their eyes ' Uh-oh.'

Once their tongues were back in their own respective mouths their lips broke contact with a soft, liquid plop.

"Hi." had Harm the urge to whisper, even though he felt slightly ridiculous for it.

The bright smile that took residence on Meg's lips and in her eyes, mollified him somewhat for being so corny "Hi." she beamed up at him.

"How do you feel?"

"Married." she replied and Harm grinned.

"Good."

Meg took a step back, but was quickly jerked back into his arms. One elegant blond eyebrow rose quizzically when he briefly shook his head 'no', but then smirked when she felt her answer hard against the apex of her thighs. The kiss hadn't been without consequences for him and since with her high heels she was almost the same height as he, she could feel it plainly.

As they let go of each other and turned to their friends to accept their well-wishes, Harm carefully kept Meg in front of himself, eliciting a knowing smirk, thrown over her shoulder at him.

Nicole, Meg's friend, squealed happily as she embraced Meg, congratulated her and quickly involved her in a chatter, speaking quicker than anything Harm had ever heard before. His attention was dragged from his new wife to his friend Tuna, who was right that second shaking his hand and patting him on the back "Congrats, buddy, I really thought you were one of us eternal bachelors, but I'm glad to see I've been proven wrong."

"Thanks, Tuna." Harm grinned and then accepted a congratulations from the man who had officiated the wedding.

After the two witnesses have signed, Harm and Meg were given their marriage certificate.

Grinning, his arm around his new wife, who was holding the certificate, Harm looked around "What do you all say we retire this party to the reception?"

The official excused himself, saying he needed to get back to the office, and the four made their way back to the cars. On the walk Harm drew Tuna a little to the side, wanting to ride with Meg by himself "You wouldn't mind spending a little time by yourself with Meg's friend, would you?" he winked, having caught the looks Nicole had been sending Tuna.

Tuna sighed as if he was put out "Alright, man, but you owe me. Go, take your Missus with you, I'll just have to sacrifice myself."

Harm laughed and patted Tuna on the back before reclaiming his wife.

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**Reviews are love.**


	8. Chapter 8

Welcome, dear friends, to the next part of the story. I hope you like it just as you did all the others.

And now, time for the wedding night!

Once again, huge thanks to **Lynnp, Captain J 737, michelle UK, qqball, Sarai, Rittanicus **and **rightsideofwrong.**

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Harm and Meg ended up thrown out of the restaurant (in a gentle, polite way) when the work hours had ended, having barely noticed Tuna and Nicole taking their leave, so into their conversation were they.

An hour later were the newlyweds standing in front of the door of their honeymoon suite Harm had rented just a few minutes ago, signing them in as Mr and Mrs Rabb with a thrill he'd never known before.

They managed to break apart to open the door and then Harm bent down, lifting Meg into his arms, prompting a short squeal from her. They both laughed and then Harm carried her over the threshold.

In no time at all they were in the bedroom, tearing each other's clothes off. Just when he was about to join them for the first time Harm suddenly remembered something and paused long enough to ask "Are you on anything?"

Meg froze, having been on the verge of pulling him inside herself if he wouldn't do it himself fast enough, when her brain processed Harm's question. In the space of a second half of the lust and desire coarsing through her veins left her. She didn't even have to think about the answer.

"No."

She hadn't been involved with anyone even since before having met Harm the first time. She kept a secret, something she felt embarrassed about. The thing was, the older she got the more embarrassed she was over it. A secret she would eventually tell Harm, as he had the right to know, but right then was obviously not the right time.

After having met and fallen in love with Harm she just didn't have the will to date other men, she compared them all to him and they all fell short. Mainly it was because she loved Harm and wasn't in denial about it, thus couldn't bring herself to even consider having sex with some other man. Unfortunately Harm had been in deep denial about the reason for his unhappiness until he'd met her again on the beach and had thus still had relationships with Annie, admittedly because of Luke, and with Jordan and that stupid infatuation with Mac.

But those times have passed now and they were exactly where they'd always been meant to be.

Together.

And it was how they'd be forever.

Even with this little stumbling block.

"And I forgot about the condoms with everything that's been happening." Harm trailed off, guiltily and embarrassedly to have forgotten such a thing.

After he and Jordan had broken up he had simply gotten out of habit carrying condoms with him and since he wasn't one of the people to go picking up strangers he never had them with him. Honestly, it's doubtful those types even ever had condoms with them.

The look in Meg's eyes still told what she felt of the prospect of using condoms on their wedding night, on their first night together and especially on their wedding night. Harm couldn't blame her, for he felt the same. Condoms just felt wrong on a wedding night. There should be nothing between them when they made love for the first time.

"I'm starting my fertile time in a few days." Meg mused, disappointed, knowing it was just too dangerous to make love right now.

"My leave is up tomorrow and I still have four months left on my deployment." Harm sighed and rolled off her, bringing her with him. Meg laid her head on his chest, slipping her arms around his body to hold him to her "If you'd get pregnant tonight that means I'd miss out on half of your pregnancy. And I don't want miss even a second of it when it happens."

He received a blinding smile for that.

"First we see to us getting a billet somewhere together and only then think about kids, that okay with you?" Meg asked "Besides, waiting will be good for us. We'll have time to get used to being a couple before we get sex involved. I don't want to rush this and later on have our relationship and marriage fall apart because of rushing."

Kissing the crown of Meg's golden hair, Harm nodded "Well, I waited almost 4 years for this, waiting a little more won't kill me."

Meg tightened her arms around him "Sorry, Honey."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Sweetheart, it's not your fault. Neither of us knew we would find each other again to be prepared and then events just went too fast for us to remember such a small detail."

Pulling a sheet over them he kissed her again.

"Besides, we have the rest of our lives for that."

Meg sent him a sleepy smile and cuddled further into him, kissing his chest "That we do, Harm, that we do."

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His squad-mates were waiting for him in front of his stateroom, their faces alight with unsuppressed curiosity. The rumor had obviously spread on the entire squadron. They greeted him and started taking the round-about way until one of them had had enough and demanded. "So, Pappy, who was that gorgeous blonde on the beach? Is she the same as the one who dropped you off on the dock?"

Suddenly it was deathly silent as everyone stared at him, hugry for gossip. Harm took his time and unlocked the hatch, taking a step inside. "That, gentlemen..." he trailed off for drama "That was my wife." he finally dropped the bomb and closed the hatch on them.

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**Reviews are love.**


	9. Chapter 9

I wanted to post this last week when I came back from my vacation, but the chapter for some reason didn't want to come together. Finally it's done and here you have it.

Heh, if anyone thinks the age gap between Harm and Jen is huge then they should've seen the German couple from the camp I was in. They guy was already completely white, I'd estimate him in his 60's if not 70's. The woman was in her 20's, I'd say early 20's, simply put, drop dead gorgeous, fantastic body and lovely face. And they had a small child... younger than a year.

With that kind of age gap, whatever Harm/Jen or Hameron (from House MD) have is really miniscule. But it works for them, they're in love, were looking happy and isn't that the only thing important?

Well, hopefully they're in love and she's not just with him because of the money she'll get when he dies... And, yeah, I know I'm a huge cynic sometimes.

Anyway, huge thanks again to **Lynnp, Leigh, Captain J 737, carolfd, michelle UK, Rittanicus, Sarai, Starman800 **and **rightsideofwrong. **You guys rock.

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"Sir, your 0900 appointment is here." reported Tiner.

"Send them in."

He put down his pen and observed as for the first time in more than 3 years LT Meg Austin came before him, stood to attention and declared. "LT Austin reporting for duty, sir!"

"At ease, LT." he smiled and rose, extending a hand which Meg shook. "Welcome back! It's been a hell of a long time and I'm damn proud and glad to have you with us again."

"As am I, sir. I never thought my transfer request would go through so quickly." she commented, sitting down at Chegwidden's prompt.

"We were both lucky on this count, LT. With Rabb leaving a huge hole was left behind and we're slowly drowning in the caseload." he was observing her intently and the lack of any reaction to his news puzzled him "You're not surprised to have not seen Rabb here, you haven't even asked about him. How come?"

"The Commander and I ran into each other in Naples a couple months back, sir." Meg smiled a cryptic smile. The memory of just how they'd run into each other, with her literally jumping into his arms, almost made her blush.

Chegwidden nodded and took up his words "Anyway, because of that we are desperately short of qualified, trained lawyers. Plainly put, we're awfully under-staffed and the ones we have aren't worth much with the exception of young LT Roberts, who isn't fully trained yet. Good choice, btw." Meg smiled, pleased that the young officer she'd recommended for this post was making a good name for himself, for her as she was the one to have recommended him and justifying her belief in him "Major MacKenzie and LCDR Brumby could do a much better job if they'd just concentrate on their jobs for a few minutes at least and not spend all day mentally undressing each other." the disapproval was clear in his voice.

Looking at her he detected a small smile of recognition "Rabb warned you about that as well, huh?"

"Yes, sir, he did."

"Can I ask what exactly he told you?"

' To be careful around that 'slimy Aussie bastard with the attitude of a dog in heat' and to be careful around Mac with what I say, because she might find out just how close Harm and I are. And then I'd probably be either scorched by her glare or frozen by her ice, either way it wouldn't be pretty. But it's not something Chegwidden should find out. ' she mused.

"I'm sorry, Admiral, but I'm not at liberty to discuss." shrugging she smiled sheepishly "It was private."

He nodded his head, having already expected that answer. "Anyway, you'll get Rabb's former office, Brumby will just have to move out." his lips curled into a feral grin "The smug bastard was way too full of himself for getting it in the first place, he deserves to be taken down a notch. Or twenty or thirty... Well, it's staff call time, let's get moving."

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"At ease." he said when he entered the conference room and the present staff rose. He started talking while still standing in front of the door.

"First order of business, let me welcome a new member of the staff. Some of you already know her, she worked here a few years ago. LT Meg Austin, our newest lawyer."

Meg stepped out from behind him where she'd been closing the door, noticing a few friends among the staff, people who had been there during her year as Harm's partner. She sent them a smile, since it would not be proper to wave, and watched Bud's eyes grow to a comical size. Barely keeping her amused grin to herself she took the last free seat at the end of the table, next to the pudgy Lieutenant.

"Hi, Bud." she whispered her greeting.

"Lieutenant!" Bud exclaimed in delight, barely keeping his voice down "Great to have you back."

Meg nodded gratefully "We'll talk more later, okay?"

Bud quickly agreed and turned back to his CO who was still speaking.

"With the other half of the Dream Team off to his primary job we need more lawyers to keep up with the work. Lieutenant Austin is an excellent lawyer, with years of experience, having been trained personally by LCDR Rabb and I'm confident she'll fit right in. She served with us a while back and was a credit to this command all through her assignment until she was requested..." he gave the last word a sarcastic flavor "... by Weapons. It's completely our luck she is now back with us, at this crucial time and I know with her help we'll do better to keep up with the caseload, that LCDR Rabb had always handled by himself, than we have until now."

Meg sent a questioning look at her neighbor, who shrugged helplessly "Without the LCDR we're swamped." he whispered "I think neither of us knew before just what a large percentage of the cases he handled by himself. Or from how much flak he shielded us. And now that he's gone we're struggling to keep up, but the water is quickly rising over our heads. We had to divert many of the cases the last 4 months to other offices, something we never had to do before. With you back we stand a much better chance."

Looking at him Meg could see the young man had grown up some since they'd last met. Not much, he was still that bumbling young Lieutenant, even from what Harm had told her, but Bud _had _matured. Marriage and parenthood tends to do that to a person.

Looking around Meg saw people she'd heard of from Harm, but never met before.

On Bud's right sat a friendly-looking young blonde who was positively jiggling in her seat with the barely-repressed urge to interrogate Meg on her relationship and history with Harm. Harm had warned Meg about Harriet, according to him she could be worse than the Chinese who'd kidnapped and tortured him for information years ago.

Next to Harriet sat a man she recognized as LCDR Mattoni.

Looking across the table she saw LCDR Carolyn Imes, smiling friendily at her.

Next to Imes sat another officer she didn't know and then a woman she immediately recognized as Mac, who first looked at Meg's golden hair, barely hiding a look of disdain. Even had Harm not described her it would've been easy since she was the only Marine there and stuck out like a sore thumb. Even though she'd worked with Marines before, having a Marine in the HQ among the senior staff just felt wrong to Meg, who's been there while the office had still been Navy-only, and she was sure it was like that for others too.

Admittedly, Major MacKenzie was a classically beautiful woman, tall, thin, large-breasted with huge brown eyes and thick hair of the same color, her Persian background very apparent, but her beauty was drastically reduced by the ego-centric soul staring at the world from behing cold, hard eyes.

' So, this is the woman who has hurt Harm so many times.' thought Meg, unimpressed, sensing the Major disliked her already, even though Mac didn't know her yet, because of the simple fact that Meg was a blonde. It wasn't unexpected as Harm had already warned her that Mac for some reason hated blondes.

She could see why Harm could be sexually attracted to Mac, the Major having the kind of figure that had male tongues touching the ground, drooling. Well, until they saw the person behind the great body.

Shaking her head Meg moved on. Mac wasn't important, she no longer played any role in Harm's life and even if she would play a role again in his life in the future, it would be as nothing more than that of a coworker. Meg trusted Harm, implicitly, and knew she could trust in his commitment to her and their marriage. She knew he'd never stray on her and knew he really did love _her_, and only _her_, Meg Rabb, his wife.

LCDR Brumby looked like the regular playboy, his lecherous gaze roaming down her body, making her feel dirty. She figured he was handsome to women who liked that rugged, preening type. In all he looked very self-involved and probably spent a lot of time on his looks. Yet to Meg he came across as a wife-beater. She didn't trust guys who liked fighting, especially not the ones who liked one-on-one fights and LCDR Brumby was, from what Harm had told her, an ex-boxer.

Women love bad boys, the kind of men to give off a sense of danger, but many times those men end up hitting the women who were attracted to them because of just that capacity for violence. Too many women are guided by their hormones in the search for a partner, paying too much attention to that aura of danger, big muscles and good looks, instead of going for the good guys, even if they aren't as exciting and as physically fit.

These men, the good guys, even though they're many times nothing special physically, know how to treat a woman right and are faithful in relationships. Yet, most of the time they are overlooked in favor of the bad boys by women who years later either curse all men, believing they are all bastards, since that was the kind of men they were always attracted to and had gone after; or, if they realize their mistake of overlooking the average looking, safe good guys in favor of the bad boys, are many times too late, because the good guys had by then been all taken by the smarter women who'd rather had them than the bad boys.

While Harm was a good looking man and physically fit, he wasn't arrogant. He knew he looked good, but it wasn't something he took advantage of. While he could stand his own in a fight, fighting wasn't something he liked, it was something that was forced on him with his job as a pilot and lawyer. He wasn't violent by any definition and, even with all his training and ability to kill a man with his bare hands, Harm didn't give off the feeling of danger. Instead he made every woman near him feel safe and protected. Harm was the epitome of a good guy and Meg knew she was extremely lucky to have him. She was a smart woman and there was no way she'd ever let him go again or screw up what they had. Nothing would make her stop loving him, much less leave him.

Making a quick decision to avoid LCDR Brumby as much as possible, Meg leaned back in her chair, wondering what the next few months would bring.

If nothing else they would surely be interesting.

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	10. Chapter 10

And we're back to our favorite partner of Harm's.

The text in cursive script is an exact quote of Harm from the Season 1 episode "Defensive Action".

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"Brings back memories, doesn't it, LT?" Meg was startled by the voice and jumped slightly.

Whirling around she faced her again-CO of one month. Smiling ruefully she replied "Yes, sir, it does. Almost like old times. Almost." she said the last word sadly, thinking of her husband and missing him. "The building is not the same, nor are the offices, but the feel is the same."

"Yeah, we just need to get Rabb and CDR Krennick back and it'll be like old times again." the older man laughed. "Can just imagine the face Rabb would make if he saw Krennick here too when he came back?"

Meg chuckled with him, remembering full well what her husband's feelings were on CDR Krennick. He wouldn't have been impressed.

Noticing the wistful tone in his voice Meg dared the question. "You miss the LCDR, don't you, sir?"

Chegwidden stiffened and was quiet for a long time. Just when Meg was about to start apologizing he began lowly "No, I don't. This is the Navy, personnel get roated in and out daily, we can't afford to miss someone because it will interfere with our duties. He sure made this assignment interesting, though, and was the glue of this family, but I'm also pissed and disappointed that he left. I'd expected him to take my spot one day, but he left."

Knowing this was her chance to start preparing the ground for Harm's return Meg took it "Sir, he had to take this opportunity. Flying was taken away from him against his will and because of that he still had unresolved issues with it. He always felt like he'd failed his father and all of his ancestors that served in the Navy." she saw the Admiral was starting to get it as he hung his head thoughtfully.

A wistful smile came to her lips as memories took her away "You know, sir, on one of our cases I overheard a sailor ask him whether he still missed the sea and the flying. You know what he said?"

Her intense stare burned into him and he couldn't help but shake his head.

"He said: _'Only when I'm back on board, or see a jet, shaving in the morning, in my dreams, eating pizza, watching a movie,...' " _ she saw the impact those words had on the older man and drove on.

"Those were his exact words, sir. He missed it every second of his life and was constantly plagued by the thought of having failed. Flying is who he is, who he has always been. Harmon Rabb Jr. is a Naval Aviator first and foremost, just like his father and grandfather. Only then is he a lawyer. Flying is in his blood and he missed it more than any of us can imagine, missed it every second of his life. Who are we to judge and resent him for going back to what defines him, to what he's loved ever since he can remember?"

She knew she was getting through to him when he hung his head in shame over his feelings of betrayal, anger, resentment and hate towards Harm for returning to flying.

He himself didn't know whether he felt like that because Harm had abandoned JAG and destroyed all the Admiral's plans for the future for himself, for JAG and for Harm.

Or was he angry and betrayed because Harm had left him behind and had gone back to what he loved, while the obsolete SEAL was still stuck in this office, isolated from the rest of his command, lonely at the top, when all he wanted was to be back with his team, do 30-30's, night insertion, extractions and just be again what he loved, what had made him feel alive, to be a SEAL, instead of a bureaucrat and politician?

"He never got the chance to leave it on his own terms and when he got his second chance he had to take it, to put his demons to rest, close that chapter of his life and move on on his own terms. He didn't go because he wanted to get away from JAG; he went because he needed to heal. And when he closes that chapter, when he finds his peace and makes peace with the ghost of his father, then he will come back. One day, when you'll least expect it, sir, you will find his transfer request on your desk. Mark my words, sir, it will happen. And when it does, do what is right." she pled passionately.

"Know him that good, huh?" the Admiral finally asked somberly, the weight of his thoughts still pressing him down, making him feel tired.

Meg blushed and did her turtle-dove tuck. Then she looked up at him with her eyes shining and with a shy smile, that betrayed inner peace and happiness for the first time in her life, declared. "Well, sir, I sure hope so, I mean, I _did _marry the man..."

To this day Meg had never seen the man speechless, but it seemed that this was a memorable day. Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden was standing there, eyes wide, face pale, and incapable of even forming one sound. It had to be for the record books.

Finally, when he managed to compose himself, the other eyebrow joined it's brother high up on Chegwidden's forehead "Oh? When did this happen?" he demanded.

"A couple of months ago, sir."

"Really? _How _did it happen?"

"Well, sir, you already know Harm and I ran into each other in Naples. It was actually on an island near Naples, but that's not important. Anyway, we went out to dinner and eventually feelings got revealed. Then we decided to do something spontaneous and with which we would be committing ourselves to never again lose contact like that."

"But why do you act as if you haven't met Harm in years? I've gone along with your act, but I'd really like to know."

"If I hadn't pretended then everyone would've been curious as to how I know all this and then I would have to tell them about meeting Harm in Italy. Harm and I made a deal that I wouldn't tell anyone in this office about our marriage yet, not without him. Besides, I was warned by Harm about Major MacKenzie and about how jealous she always gets when it comes to Harm and women other than herself."

Chegwidden chuckled at the accuracy of the statement. Mac had always gotten prickly when Harm was around other women or, god help them, was involved with them. Various derogatory names that were quickly invented by Mac and her hostile behaviour towards Harm and the woman were proof enough. "So, that's why 'Austin' and not 'Rabb', right? To hide the fact that you're married?"

"Aye sir. What would be the point of hiding if my name was 'Rabb'?"

"Good point. But does that mean Rabb intends to come back after all? Is that what you were just doing? Buttering me up for when your husband wants to return?" his voice was beginning to have a betrayed growl to it.

She shrugged "No, sir, we didn't discuss any schedule for him returning or even if he will return to JAG. We didn't discuss anything precise, only that we'll try to find a way to make this marriage work. I know deep down he intends to come back eventually, but I don't know when. And I'm not gonna pressure him either, I know what flying means to him. It has to be his decision when and if he comes back to JAG. I'll still love him and wait for him. And I meant everything I said previously, nothing of it was a lie."

Chegwidden looked at her admiringly "You're the type of woman any man would want for his wife, LT."

Meg blushed.

"Really, you're good for him, much better than any other I can imagine. You know what is important to him and you don't stand in his way, trying to make him into what you think he should be like, but you support him in his decisions and are not trying to force him into what you want. You do not resent, nor hate him for loving flying, like other women and friends in his life do. You let him have his freedom because you know he'll never stray and will always come back to you. All this while making him know how much you love him. You two are a good match, I always knew you would be."

Meg was sure she wouldn't be able to stop blushing for a long time.

"Just too bad you didn't get together a few years back." he muttered.

"Why, sir?" she asked bewildered.

He smirked mischeviously "Cause then I would've won the bet that was going around the House. It was at 5000 bucks when it was dissolved because of your transfer."

Her mouth gaping, Meg could only watch as he strolled out, whistling to himself.

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	11. Chapter 11

You gotta love ff. net and it's little moods. Especially the ones when a fic is updated and the chapter doesn't show... sigh. Okay, this is the second try at updating, hopefully it'll work this time.

I've seen the sketch "Dinner for one" so many times I forgot to count, but I didn't know until just a few days ago that it's actually very unknown in UK, even though it takes place there and the two characters are an English noblewoman and her butler James. The sketch was filmed in 1963 by German television (but the text is in English and the sketch itself is never shown with subtitles, even though it's constantly aired in non-English speaking countries) and is shown every year in Germanic (Germany, Austria, Switzerland,...) and Nordic countries at Christmas (in Sweden public pressure had forced the TV network to put it back on, it's loved so much), but hasn't been shown on UK TV in over 30 years. Truly strange, this world of ours...

Btw., if anyone wants to see it, it's highly recommended and can be found on Youtube.

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Over the next couple of months the only communication Harm and Meg had was per email and they used it generously. They even managed to squeeze in a couple of phone calls.

One of the brightest days of those months was when she received an email from Harm in which he told her he'd received his promotion to O5, full Commander. She couldn't wait until she could make up for not giving him the traditional congralutory kiss for his promotion.

Only now that they'd admitted their feelings for each other did they realize what that constant tight feeling in their chests had been for the past few years.

They'd been missing each other as people in love miss each other, but because of being in denial they hadn't realized the entire spectrum of their feelings. Now, that they were finally openly in love and even married at that, did they identify that suffocating sensation.

It'd been 4 months now since their wedding and Meg was sinking even deeper into depression over having to be separated from her husband than she had been in before.

Add to that, the office was no longer what it had once been. Most of the staff that had been there during Meg's time had already been rotated out and now she was having to make new acquaintances. And since she was no longer a mere LTJG and was a newcomer to boot making friends among the support staff was even harder. Before, she'd been immediately accepted as a junior officer, but now she was high enough for the Petty Officers and Seamen to adhere to the distinction between them and her.

Bud was a godsent, he and his wife were her main friends (but not best friends, that was her husband) and support during these hard times when she was lonely. She and Bud had known each other from before and Meg was glad she'd made the right decision and recommended him to be transferred to HQ. Harriet was a friendly and honest person, but a bit of a gossip and as such was much too interested in other people's personal business. Meaning, Meg and Harm's relationship, especially the aspects Meg wasn't willing to share, but that Harriet had sensed and wanted to dig up.

Always an open and friendly person Meg tried to make friends with other members of the senior staff as well, but without much success.

On the other hand, Mac was as cold as a fish. Meg's brother, Dan, would've described as "cold eyes, cold heart". Meg had quickly come to realize Mac was a loner and completely by own personal choice.

Aloof towards the junior and support staff she wasn't particularly liked by them, only had the respect her rank required, but many of the staff doubted she deserved even that. The revelations of the physically-beautiful Marine's personal life and secrets during the past few months, during already-existing scandals or scandals created by the secrets coming out, had not endeared her to them. Many had lost respect for her because of what they'd found out she'd said and done (adultery, fraternization, sleeping into Law School, perjury, murder, having lived with that lawyer Lowne even though she was committing adultery yet again, breaking her word and honor as a military officer and officer of the court, etc.) and had not said (for example, had not told anyone, even her best friend, about being married even though she'd shown sexual interest in Harm).

The Major even looked at Meg from the top of her nose. To Meg's smug satisfaction that also meant that Mac had to crane her neck back a lot, because Meg was much taller than the other woman. Having the Major have to look up to even meet her eyes, filled Meg with a catty satisfaction,which had led to Mac wearing her anti-regulation high heels even more often because in them she approached Meg's height. For once letting herself be petty Meg wore _her_ high heels once, the ones that made her almost as tall as Harm, and she literally towered over Mac. Seeing her point had been made she reverted back to her regulation pumps the next day and stayed with them.

Somehow she had the feeling that the Major would not react favourably when she'd find out about Harm being married to Meg and, truthfully said, Meg was somewhat dreading the day of revelation.

Another member of the staff Meg didn't get along with was the Aussie Lieutenant Commander. The man had "sleaze" written across his face, especially when he smiled that arrogant, smarmy smile. Meg was reminded of a stereotypical used-cars salesman when she saw him.

That wasn't the only reason Meg couldn't stand him, however. The guy was seemingly completely under control of his hormones. He was like a dog in heat, going after every skirt he sniffed out.

Alternately he was pursuing Meg as well as Mac. Mac was lapping the attention up, engaging into some weird twisted game of chase, giving in just enough to wet his appetite even more, then push him away and run. While on the other hand Meg had to force herself to lock her service weapon away because she knew that if she'd bring it with her to the office she'd inevitably shoot the guy and spending the rest of her life in prison wasn't in her plans for the next few decades. Though she could probably use the momentary insanity thing or claim that she was feeling threatened.

Which wasn't far from the truth.

He didn't quit asking her out, to dinner, to lunch, to dinner with breakfast (something that Meg had barely stopped herself from hitting him for),... Even if she hadn't been married to Harm, nor in love with him, she wouldn't have taken the Aussie up on his offers. There was something unsettling about him, something that was putting out the red flags for Meg, setting her teeth on edge.

Meg had reported his behaviour to the Admiral and the evidence against the Commander was piling up. It would soon be enough to not only have him deported, but to also put him on trial.

Meg just hoped the NCIS investigator would soon declare they had sufficient evidence and Meg would finally be rid of the nuisance. Before she'd take justice into her own hands.

The rest of the staff were quite nice and Meg had quickly become friends with LCDR Imes and Mattoni and other junior and enlisted staff members.

She was just missing Harm something awful.

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	12. Chapter 12

I caught some stupid virus, so please forgive me if there are more mistakes left than usual.

**Leyte: **thanks for the tip, will get to reading that fic once I managed to get rid of the bug and can find some time for it.

**Leigh: **Thanks! Well, there's a lack of Harm's POV for a reason, which will be revealed soon.

**Lynnp:** did you get the email I sent you on your work account?

Huge thanks to** TallerSister, zeilfanaat, Rittanicus, Leyte, Leigh, michelle UK, Sarai, Tempe4Booth **and **Lynnp.**

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And it was getting worse.

It'd been 4 months since they'd last seen each other and 2 days since they'd had any sort of contact.

Harm had warned her that he would be out of reach for a few days and truthfully Meg was going out of her mind with worry, even though he'd told her there was nothing to worry about.

Quietly she fumed at Harm for telling her not to worry. She trusted his flying, she knew Harm was one of the best pilots the Navy had and would never resent him for flying or try to force him to give it up, but that didn't mean she didn't worry. She was his wife, more than that, she was the woman who loved him and thus had the right to be concerned about him, damnit! When would the man finally realize he was no longer alone and that someone loved him enough to be constantly worried about him?

Probably not soon, because it had not fully sunk in for her either.

Neither of them had ever been married before so they were still getting used to things that come with being married to a person. It was hard, though, since with the lives they were leading it was as if they weren't married at all. The lives they were leading were essentially the lives of two singles who had a romantic interest on the other side of the world, nothing more.

True, she was living in his, their, apartment, but she was living there alone, even with his things surrounding her. They were in no way the usual newlyweds who get married after months of living together, being used to each other's company all the time and continuing to live together after the wedding. Harm and Meg had been single until the day they'd gotten married and continued to live separately even after that life-changing event.

Of which the unfortunate side-effect was that, even though they had the rings and marriage certificate (which Meg had framed and put on a wall in the apartment) to prove it, they continued to feel as if they were singles. At least Meg was in a better position since she lived in an apartment that positively screamed Harm and the presence of him surrounded her every second she spent at home. The fact that his sheets and pillow had his scent was something she treasured, it also helped her fall asleep faster and with the sense of security she always felt around him.

Harm on the other hand, when he wasn't flying, was fighting hard battles to ward off the feeling as if he had found Meg only to lose her again because she wasn't with him. It was those time that he sent his wife the most emails and spent hours playing and staring at his wedding ring. He couldn't wait until he'd have her in his arms again.

Meg continued driving her own car, knowing it would immediately give the game away if she came to work with Harm's SUV.

She was sure though Mac's (and Brumby's) expressions would've been priceless, though.

However Meg wasn't looking forward to the aftermath of such a realization. She knew it was inevitable, Harm's sea duty would be over in the next couple of months and he'd come ashore. There was no chance of their marriage remaining a secret for much longer, but Meg wasn't about to announce it herself, not without Harm's approval and him there as protection and support.

It would also have to be their joint decision as to how to let the cat out of the bag, for Harm had known these people for much longer than she had.

At least they had the Admiral in their corner...

Which was something that still took Meg by surprise whenever she thought of it. To think that there'd been a running betting pool with Admirals, Generals, Senators, and a boat load of other politicians and soldiers in on it...

To think that all these people had seen something that she and Harm themselves had been blind to for so long. Amazing!

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The first clue that the day would be memorable should've been a blond head and Commander's bars on an older officer's uniform.

Meg stood frozen in shock as a ghost of the past floated into the bullpen and headed straight for the Admiral's office, then changing course when she caught sight of stunned Lieutenant.

"LT, a surprise to see you here. I heard you got transferred out the same time I was." the woman asked in her scratchy voice, damaged from decades of intense smoking.

"Commander Krennick." Meg stuttered, still recovering from the shock of seeing the woman again after so many years "No... I... I came back 4 months ago."

"Interesting." the other woman muttered, then Meg noticed the wondering eyes "Is LCDR Rabb by any chance here too?"

Meg bristled at the tone and wandering eyes. She'd always hated the way the older woman had harrassed Harm and her previous position of being merely his partner and best friend had prevented her from putting the lecherous CDR in her place.

"The Commander went back to flying 6 months ago, ma'am." she sent the older woman a glare.

"A shame." Krennick commented, ignoring the glare "He is being wasted on a carrier out on high seas. Unless he found himself a distraction what with all those young women on the ships nowadays..." she trailed off musingly.

But Meg didn't take the bait "Considering Harm always respected fraternization regulations I would say it's highly doubtful, ma'am." Her tone left no doubt as to who'd been the one to whom the frat regs had meant nothing.

"Hm." Allison grunted in return, her eyes scrutinizing Meg, who was careful to keep her anger off her face, but couldn't completely hide her annoyance.

"Commander Krennick?" Tiner's voice cut through the tense silence and Meg sent him a silent thanks for interrupting their standoff "Admiral Chegwidden is waiting."

Krennick nodded "I'm coming." sending Meg a long, considering look she rasped "We'll talk later, Lieutenant."

Meg nodded, the CDR's last sounding more ominous to her than they'd probably been meant.

Looking after the CDR, Meg couldn't help but try to figure out what exactly was Krennick doing here. As far as she knew there was no reason for Krennick reporting to Chegwidden, unless he had personally requested she drop by.

' The Admiral must have his reasons.' Meg shrugged, but couldn't shake off the unease at Krennick being there.

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	13. Chapter 13

You may have noticed there was a chapter 13 posted 3 weeks ago and then disappeared. The reason is simple: I took it down because I was dissatisfied with it. I planned to rewrite it, but then had to go out of country for a week and then the next week I was ill and feeling too miserable to do anything about it. Besides, 13 isn't a good number.

Now I finally did what I wanted with it and the old chapter 13 ended up split in two parts. This one is slightly polished, but the next (and last) part has another scene added to it. A scene I seemed to have forgotten in the original. *facepalm*

But it seems as if that wasn't the end of the bad luck... I had this chapter uploaded and ready to be posted when I deleted it by mistake and I had no backup of it, only the old version. So, this is the old version and I have a bad feeling that the new version was much improved and edited over this one and thus those improvements were lost. You are free to throw rotten tomatoes and eggs as much as you want, but rest assured you won't even reach the amount of abuse I'm giving myself for such stupidity. It seems that the loss of an ENTIRE Harm/Meg fic this year (most of it writte and, to make matters worse, it was a fic that I deemed my best one yet) has taught me enough yet.

Well, I have rambled on long enough so I'll let you go to reading the fic. Don't forget to review!

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Krennick had been in Chegwidden's office for an hour already and every passing second had Meg even further on edge.

Seeing something flash from the corner of her eye the lovely young blonde shook her head. No, it was impossible. She was surely imagining. There was no way it was true.

Meg sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand, it was early in the day and she was already exhausted, more emotionally than physically. For a second she wished Harm was there so she could lose herself in his comforting embrace, but then discarded the thought. She would go through this discomfort voluntarily if that meant Harm would stay safely out of reach of that hyena. Another reason she didn't want Krennick anywhere near Harm was because she knew that if Krennick followed her old ways, Meg would do something that could end with her spending time in Leavenworth and she could think of much better ways of spending the next few years than rotting in a jail cell.

Lost in her dreamy thoughts of making love to her husband, in every possible location in every possible position, Meg would've missed the flash of sunlight reflecting against a fruit salad had it not hit her directly in the eyes.

Frowning in consternation she blinked several times to get rid of the black spots in her vision, only to have them widen comically. Sure she was just seeing things she closed her eyes and rubbed them, then opened them again. Still the same.

She blinked.

Yup, it was still there.

_It_ being Commander Harmon Rabb Jr., positively swaggering towards her with that grin on his face, the grin that made female hearts beat faster and their knees weaken.

He couldn't be mistaken for another, his height alone setting him apart from the others in the room. Others who were parting to make way for him just the same way the court parted to allow their king unobstructed passage.

Grinning widely, her husband approached her, walking as if he had done something he was particularly proud of.

Meg was fuming.

That... that.. that jerk!

Being without contact for days, making her worry about what was going on, if he was still alive, while he was safely in transit back states-side. An irrational urge to slap that grin off his face washed over her.

Saying hellos to the staff as he made his way passed them Harm aimed his steps towards his wife, standing in the doorway to what had once been his own office. Inwardly he grinned, he'd expected Chegwidden would assign her this room, after all the older man shared Harm's antipathy for the boisterous Aussie. Brumby had been just too pleased putting his own plaquette on Harm's office when Harm hadn't even moved out of it yet. Hm... on that thought, would Chegwidden allow Harm and Meg to share the office? They'd done that while they'd still been partnered together...

"Hello there, Lieutenant, long time no see." Harm flirted as he finally came to a stop in front of her. No-one would think anything special of the question since they all knew Harm and Meg had been partners a few years back, had been informed of the Rabb-Austin dynamic by the staff members who had already been at HQ back then, and thought Harm and Meg hadn't seen each other in years.

"Commander."

Harm's smile slipped at the cool tone, accompanied by a glare and a defensive stance, arms crossed over her breasts, her feet shoulder-width apart. What had he done now?!

He didn't know whether to be angry or grateful when Bud, Harriet, Brumby and Mac suddenly showed up, the married couple greeting him enthusiastically; and those disrupted the tense atmosphere between him and his wife. Mac's "Back so soon, Harm? What happened? They threw you out?" was accompanied by Brumby's grunt of "Rabb."

"Bugme."

The Australian was quite obviously not thrilled over Harm's return, his voice openly unfriendly, the expression on his face as if he'd swallowed a lemon and a rotting orange at the same time. Harm, on the other hand, was slightly more civil, but only slightly so as he returned Brumby's feelings. Harm knew of Meg's problems with the Australian and he cursed the fact that they were in uniform since it stopped him from teaching Brumby a lesson in respecting a 'no'.

Everyone around them felt the hostility between to the two men and Meg was fearing it was about to come to blows when the JAG's office door opened and the man himself, accompanied by CDR Krennick, stepped out. Oh, shit, Harm and Krennick in the same room.... Harm was about to be eaten... on the other hand... perhaps not, because now Meg finally did have the right to do something about it.

Hold on.

Harm was being transferred back? Didn't that mean Chegwidden would know he would be here today?

Meg's eyes widened in horror as the situation presented itself in all it's horror and Chegwidden's words from months ago came back to her. _"We just need to get Rabb and CDR Krennick back and it'll be like old times again. Can just imagine the face Rabb would make if he saw Krennick here too when he came back." _

The old man had actually PLANNED this? He'd KNOWN Harm was coming back and hadn't even mentioned it in passing to her? Not only that, he'd actually arranged so that Krennick would be here the day Harm returned?

' Oh god, please don't tell me Krennick's being transferred back in.' Chegwidden hadn't made it any secret that the office was short on lawyers, but this... This was just cruel.

It was probably a small kind of payback against Harm for leaving the HQ at the time they'd been snowed under by cases. With Harm leaving they'd lost the person who'd done most of the work, handled most of the cases, and had been left with either only an average staff, or not yet fully trained one, until Meg had come back. Since she hadn't done anything to warrant the Admiral's wrath Meg figured she was just a collateral in Chegwidden's plan to get back at Harm.

Upon seeing the Admiral coming towards him Harm came to attention and declared in a clear voice "CDR Rabb reporting for duty, sir!"

"At ease, Commander." Chegwidden nodded "And welcome back."

Meg could see her coworkers look at each other, not having expected either Harm coming back or having been promoted in the meantime. Looking at Harm's silver oak leaves Mac and Brumby were envious and quite unhappy with the prospect of Harm being a superior officer, for they would've loved to be the ones with silver leaves to use it on Harm.

Chegwidden saw the need to step in before he'd have to have the floor washed of blood, what with the glares Harm and Brumby were exchanging.

"There's someone waiting for you in conference room 1, LCDR." he ordered the Aussie. Normally he would've gone along to see Brumby's face when he'd open the door to see an NCIS investigator accompanied by a couple MPs, but the play that was about to unfold here promised to be too entertaining to miss. If all went well Rabb would be putting two women in their rightful places while announcing his marriage to his old partner.

Agent Tompson was a competent agent, unlike many of his colleagues, and Chegwidden was confident in the man's abilities to make the arrest without a hitch. Besides, the old man had made sure there would be at least one lawyer present to make sure the arrest would go by the book so that no-one would later be able to demand dropping of charges on account of technicalities.

As the Aussie left the JAG turned to the woman at his side "You still remember CDR Krennick, don't you, Mr Rabb?"

Harm's eyes widened as he heard the name, having been too focused first on Meg and then on Chegwidden to notice her. Krennick's scratchy voice was as close to a purr as she could make it and Meg couldn't help but smirk when she saw Harm taking an involuntary half-step backwards.

"CDR, so lovely to see you again. Congratulations on your promotion." her eyes narrowed speculatively "I guess this makes us equal now."

"CDR Krennick." Harm nodded back "It's been a while. Are you being transferred back?" Meg snickered quietly at Harm's version of ' What the hell are you doing here!?'.

"I'm starting my retirement tomorrow and Admiral Chegwidden requested I report to him before I go."

"Retiring, ma'am?" Harm and Meg's eyes met, both having the same thought: had one of the men she'd harrassed reported her and she'd been forced into retirement because of it? Of course there was no way of finding that out.

"My 20 are up and I've been thinking of settling down for a while now. This opportunity does open up some possibilities..." Krennick smiled what she hoped was a seductive smile, but one which left Harm unmoved and Meg wanting put a stamp with ' Property of Meg Rabb' on Harm's forehead.

She didn't get the reaction she wanted, though.

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	14. The END

**READ THIS:** since I received several pleas for a sequel I feel everyone deserves to know the answer. Unfortunately I must disappoint you all, as there will be **no sequel**. The reason is because I have absolutely no idea what to write about and I have even less inspiration for the scenes in it (which is the requirement if I am to start writing - I have to have scenes already created in my head before I start writing). So, thank you for your interest, but please don't ask for a sequel.

This is officially the end. Thanks for sticking with it and PLEASE don't continue the tradition of last chapters getting barely any feedback!

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"I wish you all the best, CDR..." Harm smiled sincerely, ignoring the subtext "and when you find the one you're looking for, don't hesitate inviting us to the wedding." Checking with Meg, Harm was glad she wasn't angry he'd decided to blow their pretense at that moment and in such a way. He'd have to find out later why she'd greeted him so coolly, though.

"Us?" retorted Krennick confused.

In answer Harm's eyes bored into Meg's as he stepped towards her. The entire bullpen watched as his hand rose and confidently extended towards Meg's chest. Meg could see Chegwidden frowning in indecision whether to interrupt or see what Harm would do.

Meg shivered slightly at the instant shot of desire that ran through her when Harm's fingers touched her breast when he unbuttoned her left chest pocket. But when he slipped his hand inside the pocket, brushing against her sensitive nipple, her eyes slipped closed as heat pooled low in her belly and she moaned lowly, her hard peak aching for his fingers. They hadn't made love yet and her body was hypersensitive to his touch. She swore, if he didn't stop touching her ASAP she would jump him right there and then. She didn't fill her blouse as much as some other women did, didn't make the material strain like Mac did, so she was sure he was doing it on purpose since he could've easily avoided direct physical contact. She'd married an evil husband.

Or one who was yearning for her as much as she was for him.

Dimly she could hear scandalised gasps from others at the intimate way in which the Commander was touching her and a growl from Mac, who was clearly unhappy Harm was touching a woman other than herself.

Meg really shouldn't have been surprised he knew exactly where she was keeping her ring, Harm knew her better than anyone she'd ever met, after all, even better than her own mother. If he'd known what kind of a dress she would wear just 2 weeks after being partnered for a recon mission without having seen her, the location of her ring was a child's play.

"The pocket above the heart, Meg?" Harm whispered and smirked knowingly, but couldn't hide the pleasure he felt at her showing so obviously how much she loved him.

"Yes, _us_." Harm then spoke out loud to answer Krennick's question, taking Meg's smaller hand tenderly into his own and slipped the ring on her finger, his eyes on her all the while. Meg's baby blues misted, that some look had been in his eyes when he'd first put that ring on and she felt as if he was marrying her all-over again. Harm continued talking to a stunned Krennick, his eyes still on Meg "You can find our address in the phone book under my name."

Now, if that didn't clue everyone in... Still, Meg could see everyone who had the line of vision, directing their eyes to Harm's left hand to check for a ring. To their surprise they found a ring identical to the one Meg was now wearing.

Meg rolled her eyes, some people could really be dim.

"Just address it to Harmon and Meg Rabb."

Seeing the shocked surprise and disappointment on the faces of Mac and Krennick alone made waiting with their announcement worth it. Mac's mouth was gaping open in shock and surprise, completely blindsided, trying to say something, looking stupid as she was pointing a long-nailed finger at them.

Krennick on the other hand, while her eyes glinted with disappointment and defeat, was not surprised. She'd been at the HQ while Harm and Meg had still been partners and had regarded Meg as the biggest threat to her plans of bedding the yummy then-Lieutenant, an assesment she hadn't bothered to hide. The sparks between the two partners had been too intense to go unnoticed, yet the actual depth of Harm and Meg's connection had surprised even Krennick when Meg had confessed in Hong Kong that she loved her best friend and partner. From the very beginning it had been just a matter of time and regs not standing in the way for the two partners to find their way to each other.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant, I guess the better woman won." she extended her hand, which Meg refused to take, explaining.

"No, ma'am, there was never any competition that would make someone a winner and the other a loser, ma'am, love isn't a competition or a power struggle or trying to teach someone a lesson and make them suffer." from the corner of her eyes she saw as the words hit Mac, for whom they were partially meant. If the female Marine pencil pusher wanted to have at least one successful relationship in her life she would have to go through an ultimate attitude adjustment and completely revolutionalize her way of thinking because the way she was right now she was doing more damage to the men interested in her and to herself than anything else. She still wouldn't get her hands on Harm, he was lost to Mac forever, but perhaps at one point in the future she would get her head out of her six and not try to rip the man, who saw something of value no matter how misguided or blind he was in seeing that, to shreds as she'd done to Harm and Meg was sure she would've done in the years to come had Harm not gone with his friends to the beach "Love just is. The reason I married Harm is because I love him and always have."

Krennick nodded her head in acknowledgement of the truth in Meg's words and, offering congratulations to Harm and Meg on their marriage, made her goodbyes and left JAG one last time. Then suddenly everyone winced, nearly going deaf.

"YOU'RE MARRIED!!!???" the piercingly-shrill voice belonged to Mac who had only now shaken off her stupor and was staring accusingly at Harm.

He winced, at both the volume of her voice, the rage in it and over knowing just how deep in hot water he truly was. Trying for flippancy and nonchalance he turned to her and smiled forcedly "Uh, yeah, have been for months. You mean I didn't tell you?"

When Mac's face first took on a deathly white shade then turned lobster-red Harm realized just what exactly he'd said and that it could've been taken as a rebuke to her never once having told him about her own existing marriage during their 3 years of partnership until the secret had been forced into light.

"But since you weren't talking to me, not answering my mails until I gave up, I couldn't even do that."

Noticing Mac was on a slow boil he cut to the chase, making sure others could hear him so he wouldn't have to repeat himself and that no outrageous theories would crop up. On the other hand, that last was probably unattainable since the staff had pretty much fantastic imaginations and obviously nothing better to do.

"As most of you probably know, LT Meg Austin and I were partners for a year before she was unfortunately rotated out. By pure coincidence we met again, 4 months ago, in Naples where she was stationed when I was on my shore leave. To make a long story short, we still loved each other, took the opportunity that presented ourselves and got married before my ship had to leave port. The rest, as they say, is history."

Meg, ignoring Mac's vicious glare, took the opportunity to make it clear to the staff "But we assure you all that our relationship won't affect this office and if we'll have any problems we'll keep them at home."

Harm nodded emphatically and turned to his new CO.

"Now, sir..."

"No." Chegwidden shook his head emphatically before Harm could even finish his sentence.

"But, sir, you don't know what I was going to ask." complained Harm.

"Oh, I do know. I'm not letting you and LT Rabb share the same office again. I know you did that while you were still partners, but you're married now. I don't want to speculate what's happening whenever one of you closes the blinds or locks the door." he shuddered at the prospect of what could be happening in the office at such an occasion.

"Scout's honor, sir, we won't do that here." Harm swore, Meg directing her own large, pleading eyes at the Admiral, who turned his back on them to walk away just so he wouldn't have to see them.

"You've never been a Scout, Commander."

"What about a pilot's honor?"

"I wouldn't trust a pilot as far as I can throw him."

"But I'm a pilot, sir."

"Exactly my point."

Harm knew Chegwidden trusted him no matter what he said, but he still sounded a protest at that statement as he followed behind his CO.

"But since you're back you can resume your old job as the Chief of Staff." the Admiral's voice turned evil "You'll like it, there are plenty of candidates-for-staff files to review, plus other paperwork."

"Thank you, sir, I'm looking forward to it." was Harm's response, voice less than enthusiastic.

Sighing as the voices died down as the two men entered the Admiral's office, Meg rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking around.

Seeing the expressions of the staff, the eager, demanding one on Harriet, who was clearly just waiting until she could pounce on Meg to get the info she wanted, which would then inevitably be circled around the rumor mill; the eternally-confused expression on Bud and the jealous, angry on Mac; Meg paled and almost ran to the safety of the Admiral's office.

She was no coward, wasn't afraid of her coworkers pouncing on her, it was just that her husband needed help.

Right?

THE END

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